Hetalia High
by Mishamigod
Summary: High school juniors Matthew and Alfred transfer to Hetalia High a school for prodigies. There's never a dull moment. Lots of ships. Mostly Prucan, Spamano, and USUK. Just another highschool AU. Not in complete chronological order.
1. Chapter 1

The first thing Matthew has noticed was that flag poles. There were a lot of them with three flags on each pole. As far as he knew there was the flag from every country flying. The American flag stood out as it flew proudly in the center of an emblem carved into the ground with only the California state flag blowing beneath it.

The second thing he noticed was the blonde spiky haired student sprinting in his general direction the second his friend had shoved him onto the emblem. He may not have noticed it if that very student hadn't barreled straight into his brother who in turn collapsed on top of him in mock pain.

"Sorry!" The blonde kid didn't spare a second and continued his mad dash for the pole bearing the Danish flag.

There were two things Matthew knew for sure at the moment. A. That his knee hurt like hell and B. That Alfred was probably the heaviest person on earth at that very moment. As if to confirm that fact Alfred groaned from on top of him, unmoving.

"Alfred, get your fat ass off of me," he grumbled, unamused.

"How about you get your fat ass off of _me_, Matty?" he responded still unmoving from top of him.

"Alfred your weight is crushing me. I don't think I'm going to make it. This is it. This is how it ends. Do you see that light, Al? I see it and it's getting closer."

Al chuckled and slid off his brother ungracefully. By then the kid from before was jogging up to them radically out of breath.

"That probably wasn't even fifty meters and I'm sucking wind right now. Jesus, I need to get into shape before hockey starts." He said in way of an introduction with his hands on his knees.

He stood up straight. "I'm Matthias Kohler. Pleasure to meet you both. Sorry about crashing into you both like that. Once you step on the emblem you have to touch the pole with the flag your from in twenty seconds or you don't graduate. Serious business, guys." He flipped off the guy who shoved him. The boy snickered.

His accent was heavy but not something Matt recognized. He glanced up at the pole the kid had just ran to and took a wild guess.

"Are you Norwegian?" his brother beat him to it, guessing the same country he had in mind.

Matthias shook his head violently, his hair miraculously staying in place. "I'm way too cool to be Norwegian. Unlike that asshole that pushed me. Look at his stupid smirk, over there" he said nodding his head in the direction of said Norwegian. "Actually, I was born and raised in Denmark. Moved to Cali and have been attending here since freshman year. I'm out of here soon enough though. Senior year, bitche- that cut seems bad. You should get that checked." He pointed out upon seeing Matthew's battered knee.

Alfred looked down and laughed. "Ha, it's shaped like it dick!" he announced embarrassingly loud. Matthew inspected his injury to find that it did, in fact, look like a dick and he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

It died down and Matthias snagged the collar of the nearest unfortunate student who happened to be walking by. "Oh! Arty, take this kid to the nurse will you? Lukas is eyeing me down. He's either horny or mad, either way I gotta get over there quick." And with that he left to the join the "Norwegian asshole" who pushed him.

There was probably a lot of better things to say when he first met Arthur. They could have introduced themselves or at least said hi but no, neither he nor his brother went with anything reasonable.

Instead Alfred said, "Oh god," both of their eyes trained on the boy, "the eyebrows," they finished in sync.

In all fairness, it wasn't entirely uncalled for. Those eyebrows were _huge_.

"Fucking rude! Well, you can find your own bloody way to the nurse." He huffed. He had an accent too. British.

"Non, wait!" Matthew said. "We're sorry. Can we just start over? I'm Matthew and I have a dick shaped cut. This is my brother, Alfred"

"Hey, dude! Yeah, our bad but your eyebrows are fucking colossal" Alfred said, throwing his arm around the British guy. "You're name's Arty, right?"

"No, it's not, you git. It's Arthur." He stopped for a moment then sighed, "I guess I'll take you. I'm headed in that direction anyways" he turned and headed past the emblem expecting the two to follow.

The two scrambled to get their bags. "Matt, which one's yours?" he asked jogging to catch up to Arthur.

"Does it matter?" Matthew asked, not expecting an answer. They were twins, same size, so there was never much distinction between whose clothes were whose.

Instead as expected Alfred had only shrugged. The British guy was standing by a small part of the main building. He pointed at it, "That's the office the nurse is in there."

The buildings were all so pristine. Everything looked really clean. Every brick and tile looked symmetrical and there was no chip in the paint to be found. The three large building in sight looked almost regal to him, which made the left wall of the office stand out so much more. In contrast to the uncanny perfection of the bricks the entire left wall of the building was covered in random works of art. Colorful drawings and paintings covered the wall with words scribbled all over.

Arthur noticed the staring. "That's our graffiti wall. Paint on it or write on it with a sharpie or something. Doesn't matter. No rules, anything goes,"

Matthew liked it. It made the school seem less daunting. Moving to stay at an Ivy League school for the gifted wasn't his idea of peachy. Alfred had been ecstatic about it of course. He never thought all those three-hour long tests, interviews, and tryouts would actually get them in. But here they were.

"Uh- Thanks" he said, walking through the doors.

"I'll catch up with you later, Matty!" and with that Alfred left. To go to the he dorms probably.

The second he walked in walked straight into a face full of hair.

"Hola!" said the hair, cheerfully. Matthew backed up to the door and caught sight of what he ran into. The talking hair had actually been another student with the messiest brown hair he'd ever seen. His eyes were green and his smile contagious.

Next to him was the prettiest boy Matthew had ever seen. Soft looking waves of blonde hair fell past his chin that was covered in a small amount of stubble. Pretty boy winked at him.

Matthew could almost feel himself go red but before anyone could say anything an angry Italian boy with a curl like his own stalked through the back door.

"That is our queue to leave. Goodbye" sang pretty boy with a wave as he made a beeline to the door and an angry Italian hot on their heels.

"Where the fuck is Gil-" was all he heard before the door shut behind him.

The nurse's office was the first door to the right. Actually, there wasn't a door but there were hinges. He walked in slowly, wary of running into a third person in a ten-minute span.

The room was the typical American nurses office. Except for nurse looking as old as Matthew was and was trying to lift a door off the ground. So, that's where it went.

The nurse looking student was pale, paler than Matthew with silvery white hair to highlight the fact. His eyes were strawberry jam red and were so alive.

"Do me a favor." He huffed. "A grab the other side."

Matthew didn't argue or question. He just did as he was asked. "You're German?" he asked, the others accent was heavy. "Wait, what are you doing with the door?"

"Hiding it."

"Where?"

"I don't fucking know. Think of something." He was already trying to cram one end of the door into the closet by the desk.

"What? I just got here. I just want a band aid for my dick cut." He repositioned the door to get it to fit.

"You have a cut on your dick!?" He said, red eyes widening. It was almost in.

"Wait! No, it's on my knee and it's shaped like a dick. It's endearing." They slammed the closet door shut quickly before the door could fall out.

"I'm sure it is" the German sounding guy huffed. "But, no, I'm not"

"Not what?" said Matthew. He slid his back down the door till he was sitting on the floor. The nurse followed.

"German." He said. "I'm Prussian and fucking awesome. Don't let anyone tell you it's not a thing anymore. Because it is."

"Aren't you young to be a nurse?" Matthew finally found himself asking. He felt comfortable around the guy. He reminded him of his brother. But before he could answer a lady walked in. Unlike the guy sitting next to him, she looked old enough to be the nurse.

"Gilbert fucking Beilshmt, where is the door? Why are you wearing my coat? Romano just took down a tree while he was chasing your two buddies down. Wha-" she stopped fuming when she noticed Matthew.

"Oh, hello. Sorry about that. I saw Matthias run you and your brother over so I was expecting you but then someone set fire to math A3 and I had to go check to se-" she stopped again. "Never mind, never mind. Gilbert, my coat, please." She turned to Matthew. "Were you injured, sweetie?"

"Eliza, the kid's got a dick cut." Gilbert said. He shrugged off the coat and threw it directly in the real nurses face.

"I can confirm a dick cut but it's on my knee. I just want band aids." He looked at the nurse, "so is he not the nurse?" It was a stupid question, he knew that much, but he wanted an explanation.

"Nope" she said popping the p, "But that kid likes to come in here and pretend." She glanced at the empty doorframe. "Gilbert, where's the goddamn door?" Her tone changed dramatically.

Gilbert grabbed a box of band-aids from the drawers before grabbing Matthew by the collar and hauling ass out of there.

They leave the office building and make their way to the dorms with Matthew's bags in tow.

The two he ran into earlier strutted by pursued again by a ranting Italian with a wayward curl. As soon as they realized they had just passed Gilbert they circled back and dragged him away without a word.

Matthew could already see the dorms and he was astounded by how many there were. He didn't have any trouble finding his though. Door 413, despite being in the center and quite far from him he could hear his brother from. His brother's dorm was right next to his. He's forever grateful they aren't roommates.

He jogged into the building. The walls were all as unsettlingly perfect as the others. But once he was inside he was surprised by how cozy it felt. The air was significantly cooler then the LA heat outside and it was a welcome change.

All of the furniture was mismatched and were all facing random directions. There were at least three TVs in there and about a dozen various computers lining the walls. Some looked almost ancient and others Matthew could recognize as being the newest model. About half the people in there were barefoot.

Boxes and luggage were everywhere and all the sockets in the walls were filled with chargers and vacuum cleaners so he had to be careful where he stepped.

Alfred was still yelling. Actually he wasn't. That was how he always talked but it was still loud. Really loud. His brother saw him before he could say anything.

"Yo, Matty! They left our stuff here already; I think they're gone! I think the one with the maple leaf is yours? Why didn't we label these?" he shouted from down a hall. Matthew stalked up to him, flustered and red.

"Al! You don't need to yell. I was right there. I could hear you just fine." He tried to shout but he ended up speaking at what most people would consider their inside voices.

Alfred laughed and Matthew huffed in response. He looked away and shoved his boxes into his dorm. School didn't start for a few days, so it should be empty, he speculated.

He was wrong. As soon as he managed to fit the boxes through the door he spotted the kid with the monstrous eyebrows from earlier.

"Well are you going to just stand there or are you going to help me?" he said. His arm was stuck in a box up to his shoulder and he was struggling to get it free.

The box didn't even look big enough to fit his arm. "How did you manage that?" Matthew laughed out.

"Shut the hell up and help, dick boy," he snapped. Oh great, what a marvelous new nickname. Just what Matthew was hoping for.

Ten minutes, a bottle of shampoo, and more curse words Matthew even knew existed later, Arthur's arm was free.

"Uh, thanks. You're the kid Matthias ran into. What's your name again?" he said rubbing is shoulder.

"Matthew. Matthew Williams. Yours was Arty, I think?" he asked. He almost bust out laughing at Arthurs facial expression.

"No you goddamn pickle, it's Arthur." He said with his arms crossed and slightly pouting.

"Did you just call me a pickle?" Matthew couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I did. I didn't have anything better at the time." He said in his defense.

Thus a friendship was born. A mutual love of documentaries lead to a marathon of hour-long space documentaries narrated by Morgan Freeman. They chose beds, Arthur got the top bunk and Matthew the bottom. They had decided to pack the following day, neither of them willing to break the feeling of ease that came after finding a roommate worth tolerating.

By mid-night the two of them had almost memorized the countries of Europe after quiz after quiz. It was fun. Until the blonde from earlier in the office bust through the door in a grand flourish.

"I'm pretty sure that door was locked." Arthur sighed.

"Oh, mon Cherie, I'm wounded. You sound almost as it you don't want me here!" the blonde said. He entered the room followed by the green eyed boy and Gilbert.

"I don't," Arthur deadpanned. "Get out." He continued not moving from his spot, his shoulder slumped.

"Hey! It's dick boy!" Gilbert exclaimed picking Matthew up and holding him out with his hands under his armpits for the other two to see. "Is this what my new name is? Dick boy? I guess it's not that bad."' Matthew mumbled under his breath. Arthur snickered.

"Oi, Francis, that's the boy from the office!" Antonio said with that ever present smile.

"Oui, it is. Aussi belle que je me souviens" he said smoothly in French. An attempt to woo him. Matthew blushed.

"Merci? Matthieu de mon nom. Votre son est?" he said back still in Gilberts hold. Everyone was shocked and somewhat impressed.

"Vous parlez français? Je suis Francis." What a stupid question. He literally just spoke in French. "Oui," Matthew said.

Antonio and Gilbert must have been able to tell what Matthew was thinking because they laughed. Gilbert finally released him.

"I like this kid." Gilbert said, slinging an arm around Matthew's neck. "What're you in for?" he asked.

"What?"

"You know Hetalia High School for the Gifted, you're in here 'cuz you're good at something." Gilbert explained. "Like classes or sports and what not." Arthur added on. He still hadn't moved from his spot.

"I'm here for rugby, football, history, English, and writing." He listed. It reminded Matthew of how Alfred and he would list their names and address to new adults they meet from memory when they were younger.

Matthew smiled at the thought and Gilbert felt his heart skip. "I'm here for hockey, American football, archery, design, economics, and math. Same as my brother." He said.

"Wow!" Antonio breathed, "You and your brother are going to have a lot to handle this year , huh?"

"Oui," Francis agreed. "But, I'm sure he can handle it" he said with a wink. Matthew could feel himself turn red.

"Oh, will you three just sod off already" Arthur said. That was when Lovino came in through the still open door.

"Lovi!" Antonio exclaimed, latching onto one of the Italian's arms. Arthur got up as soon as he came through the door. Lovino grabbed his arm as well and stalked off. It was like a line of dominos falling in reverse. Lovino walked out with Antonio and Arthur in tow who in turn had Francis and Gilbert attached who had latched onto Matthew, dragging him along with them.

At some point in their journey Alfred had joined the train. None of them knew where the angry Italian was taking them. All Matthew knew was that their dorm door was open and that he had been called dick boy twice that day.


	2. Chapter 2

The destination happened to be one of the many, many kitchen stations in the culinary arts section of the Art Center. That area happened to be on top of the hill with everything else that wasn't a classroom, dorm, or the cafeteria.

Although, hill was a bit of an understatement. It definitely was not a mountain, no, it was too small for that, but it was steep, really steep. A staircase running up it's length made it look even more daunting.

"We are not seriously going up that, are we?" Alfred asked no one in particular. The Italian with the single curl laughed.

"Fuck no," he pointed towards a building standing on the slope. "That's the library. We're taking the goddamn elevator." He looked around. "Why the fuck are there so many people. All I needed was eyebrows here."

Matthew was surprised at how the Italian guy had not yet said a sentence in his presence without cursing. He was more then surprised. He was somewhat impressed.

"Okay, I know who all these assholes are, but who are you?" he said looking straight at Matthew. His head tilted to the side a bit. No one there could deny it was anything short of adorable. "You were in the office earlier today."

Matthew was introduced to Lovino and he quickly learned that the boy had a quick temper. "Does he always cuss this much?" he asked Antonio in a hushed voice as they went up the elevator. "Nah, only when he's pissed off. Which is kind of often though. So yeah, actually." He said with a shrug. Matthew could imagine he was mad a lot.

"So the eye brows guy is your rommie?" Alfred asked him. They were walking out the door on the second floor of the library. Matthew was surprised there were any people in there other then them. It was past midnight. "Yeah, his name's Arthur."

Alfred pouted at him. "Yeah, I know that. Lovi's my roomie. He's a riot, man." Matthew was relieved Alfred seemed to like his new roommate. He was glad he and his brother were assigned separate dorms but that wouldn't have mattered if Alfred didn't like his roommate.

Alfred sensed his brothers relief. "Wow, Mattie, I feel so appreciated." He continued to pout. The elevator door opened. "What? I didn't even say anything," Matthew said in his defense with a small smile.

When they saw what was on top of the hill the twins were astounded. It was huge. "Yeah go ahead and gawk now. It's pretty fucking big," Lovino said. They began explaining to Matt and Al all the buildings, fields, and courts.

There were huge buildings with half a dozen different courts and at least five pools. There was even a range for horse riding, archery, and shooting. There were two tracks and three fields.. There were rooms with walls lined with mirrors made for the dancers and ones with mats covering the floor for wrestlers and other fighters. There was an entire gym specific for gymnastics and cheerleading. And much to Matthew's delight there were two indoor ice rinks. There was everything up there.

They stopped at one of the central buildings. All of the central buildings were painted red. They stood out against the flawless white walls of the other buildings and lush green sporting fields. "All the red buildings are art buildings. Performing arts, Culinary, or anything artsy really, they happen in one of these. The big one has the kitchens and student lounge. The curvy place on the side in the auditorium we use for plays and assemblies," Gilbert explained.

Matthew listened with awe. Alfred whistled. "I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life," he said facing the direction of the distant football field surrounded by a rubber track.

"It's impressive, even in the night," Francis commented. Everyone agreed. "Okay, enough of this bullshit. Arthur, you are in deep shit. Do you remember your scones from earlier?" Lovino said grabbing onto his wrist and dragging him inside. Everyone else followed

"He's so cute when he's angry." Antonio gushed. "I can't say he isn't," Alfred agrees.

Matthew wondered how they were even able to get inside. Alfred beat him to asking though.

"Are the buildings always unlocked in the middle of the night?" Alfred asked. "Usually, everything but the cafeteria. During school there tends to be a lot of students trying to projects and stuff done. Sometimes they just really want to practice. So they kind of gave up trying to lock up." Antonio answered.

They followed the sound of bickering into one of the many kitchen spaces. Arthur had caught their shared cooking space on fire again. Alfred laughed. "What do you mean again? School hasn't even started yet." Lovino lifted his hands and waved them in front of Arthur and the burnt mess of the kitchen as if he were advertising them.

They continued to bicker while Antonio, Francis, and Gilbert served as a peanut gallery, making a series if pointless comments. No one made an attempt to clean up the burnt mess.

"Matt," Alfred whined. "Maaaattt," he said tugging on the hem of Matthew's hoodie to get his attention. "What do you want. This argument is golden and you are missing all of it." Matthew said, refusing to look at his brother.

"I'm hungry," Matthew sighed at that. "When are you not?" he asked rhetorically. They had a mini staring contest and Matthew slumped in defeat. An unspoken agreement was made and they retreated to retrieve the most nutritious of meals from the iconic franchise known as McDonalds.

"Hey, where are you guys heading?" Gil called out after them. "Micky D's, wanna come?" Alfred invited.

"Hell yeah!" Everyone ended up tagging along. Even Arthur joined in reluctantly, unwilling to clean up his mess.

The group of seven made their way through the library to the parking lot. "Are we going to fit in a car?" Antonio questioned. "Yeah, we'll take our truck." Alfred beamed with pride when they walked up to it.

It was an old and battered red truck from sometime in the sixties. But both of the twins loved it to bits. It may not have been the prettiest in the lot but it had functioning AC and still ran well enough.

They quickly situated themselves. Alfred drove with Arthur at shotgun. The rest of them gathered in the open back. Gilbert and Matthew sat with their backs propped up against the window separating them form the driver.

It took three tries to get it running. Matthew and Alfred were all smiles because that was considerably less then usual. "Gott, this thing is piece of shit," Gilbert whispered over to Matthew. He didn't want to shout over the wind.

"What are you talking about? It freaking purrs. Al and I fixed it up ourselves last summer," he said with a proud smile. Gilbert couldn't help but smile back.

It was all pointless banter, laughter, and loud wind from there. When they pulled up to the golden arc Alfred let out a squeal of delight. "You are such a child," Arthur groaned.

Matthew looked at him, mouth wide open, exasperated, "You're telling me," They went through the drive thru and ordered more food then what seemed like seven people could consume.

"Um, why is there so much food?" Lovino asked, holding two of the nine bags. "Yeah, there's no way we're eating all of this," Antonio added as they pulled away from the restaurant.

"Don't underestimate me!" Alfred declared from his seat inside the truck. He was easily heard despite the wind.

Since the cafeteria was closed and no one had a particular desire to retire to their dorms they scaled the escape ladder of the cafeteria and ate on the roof.

It was cold up there. The wind was still blowing, all be it softer then when they were riding against it in the truck. They opened all the bags, making a pile in the middle of their small circle.

Matthew leaned against the edge with Gilbert and Francis on either side of him. He picked out the soggiest fries from the large pile they made and Gilbert slung a lazy arm around his shoulders.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Matthew looked up from his soggy fries confused. "Huh? Yeah, I'm good. Why?" Francis leaned in really close with an odd expression on his face. Antonio moved closer to.

"Because it's a long fall from heaven," Gilbert finished with the biggest shit eating grin. He, Francis, and Antonio bust into laughter. Each of them had strange sounding laughs. Matthew liked the crinkles around Gilbert's eyes when he laughed.

The three high-fived each other. Arthur and Lovino looked unamused. "Of all the ones you could have used and you chose that one?" said Arthur.

Lovino looked at Matthew right in the eye and said, "I am so sorry," with a serious expression that quickly deteriorated into a playful grin when Antonio nudged him in the shoulder.

"It's the one I used on you wasn't it, Lovi?" Antonio cooed. "And I used that one on you to, hmm cher?" Francis said teasingly to Arthur.

"Well congrats, none of you are original!" Alfred said. They laughed. Everyone's odd laughs mixing together in a comfortable sound.

"Hey, there's an assembly tomorrow, huh?" Lovino speculated out loud. "Mhm," Alfred said with his mouth full. "What time's it going down?" he said. It sounded more like incoherent mumbles. They could barely understand him.

"It's at two," Arthur informed everyone. "What's it even for, though?" Alfred asked, this time coherently.

Arthur shrugged. "Just a before school pep rally, maybe? I don't know." He accepted that answer.

"Oi!," someone called from the ground. Gilbert leaned off the edge to call back. Matthew was genuinely worried he would fall. "What up?"

"There's booze in the 200 dorms. Open invite!" they called up before dashing away not waiting for a response.

It was late, really late, almost late enough to be considered early morning. "I'm gunna pass," Matthew said, being the first to brush himself off and get up. "G'night guys," he said making his way down the ladder.

Arthur followed him down. Once in their dorm he had gone straight to sleep, leaving Matthew to contemplate lively ruby red eyes in the dark.

They woke up around the same time the next morning. If you could call it that. It was past noon. Neither of them were early risers. After slipping into publicly acceptable clothing they made their way to the cafeteria for lunch.

Alfred and Lovino were already there. They were sitting near the center of the lunch room with two other students Matthew didn't recognize. It was a boy and a girl.

The two slid up next to their neighbors with their lunch trays. "Wow, I can't believe your up and it's not even two!" Alfred said in mock surprise. Matthew just laughed and nudged him.

"Wow, are you to, like, twins? Do you guys have the same size dick?" the girl asked. She had a strangely deep voice. The brown haired boy next to her blushed a little and chastised her, "Feliks, you can't just ask things like that!"

Matthew was shocked. So it wasn't a girl. He just happened to be wearing a skirt. "Ugh, you are, like, zero fun, Liet. But, yeah, you're right, I guess." Feliks sighed. "Anyways we were just talking to these two about theatre. You should consider joining." He said to Matthew. His attention drifted before Matthew could answer. He stood up quickly , dragging Toris up with him. "Feli!" he called before dragging his friend without a word.

"That guy makes a pretty hot chick," Alfred said to break the silence. Matthew hummed in agreement. "So are we joining theatre for elective?" he asked his brother. They always chose the same after school activities for the sake of only having to drive home once. Old habits die hard.

"I think I wanna. Is the program any good?" he turned to Lovi to ask. It was Arthur that answered. "Absolutely. Best in state, in fact." He beamed with pride. Lovino scoffed at that.

"He's only saying that because he wrote this years play," Lovino said. "But, you guys should actually join. Me and Arthur are in. So are those three idiots from last night. It's fun when it's not being a pain in the ass."

Alfred didn't wait for Matthew's input. "Its settled then, we're joining theatre." He announced much too loud for Matthew's liking. He blushed when a few people looked their way.

They ate in silence for a moment. "So do twins actually have the same size dick?" Arthur asked. Alfred laughed and Lovino smacked him upside the head.

Arthur rubbed his injury. "I guess I had that one coming. But, it's not fair. Everyone else here has a twin so I'm the only one out of the loop." He whined.

"You are as much of a child as that hamburger bastard." Lovi said. "You have a twin?" Matthew asked. Lovino nodded, "He was just here to. The kid Feliks went to harass."

After they finished they made their way up the hill. "Do people actually use those stairs?" Matthew asked as the walked passed them in favor of the library elevator. They looked daunting. "Only for detention and sometimes coaches use it to condition players and what not." Arthur answered. Damn, that meant they'd use it during practice.

It was almost time to start by the time they got into the auditorium. It was crowded in there without much order. There was loud blaring music and it was essentially a party. It was good music playing, though.

As soon as Matthew squeeze through the front doors he had to carefully navigate to get around. There was a lot of shoulder bumping. His eyes scanned through the thick crowd for Gilbert's pale hair. He was an albino, how hard could have been to find?

The assembly started before he could find him. The four of them scrambled to find seats when the principle came out. All that was left were the seats furthest to the back. He looked a lot like Lovino. Matthew briefly wondered if they were related. His appearance silenced the student body quickly.

"Welcome students of Hetalia High!" he greeted with a ditzy smile. He spoke with a heavy Italian accent. Matthew was sure they were related now. "Instead of me going on and on about school spirit and what not we made a video for you!" he said excitedly.

He said no more as a video began to project onto the un-drawn curtains of the stage. It was blank for a moment before music started to play. Matthew gasped in horror as he recognized the first note.

Despite the music playing it was so quiet you could here a pin drop. General shock took place. Then the familiar odd cackling rand through the auditorium. It was Gilbert, Francis, and Antonio laughing to hard it was infectious.

_Oh, we're no strangers to love. You know the rules and so do I._

He could see the principle loosing it backstage. Soon everyone was cracking up, even him. The chorus came.

_Never gunna give you up. Never gunna let you down. _

The entire student body had just been rick rolled. It took quite a while for everyone to settle down. It took the longest for the principle who was laughing so hard he was wiping tears away.

"In all seriousness," he started, out of breath, "don't forget the bonfire tonight and to have school spirit and all that jazz. Dismissed." He walked off the stage.

Being seated so close to the back, they were one of the first to leave. He was glad for that fact. The four of them met up with the other three.

"Why do you look so happy," Matthew asked as he approached them. "Antonio? He's always like that. Don't worry. You get used to it. Wait no you don't. Damn, Toni, that's hella creepy," Gilbert said jokingly.

"Not what he meant asshole," Lovino commented. He was trailing right behind Matthew. Alfred just laughed. "Seriously though, why are you three all smiley?"

"Because tonight," Francis paused for dramatic effect, "is the bonfire and that means," he trailed off. "The Smokey Gathering!" he exclaimed throwing his arms in the air.

Antonio explained. "Every year instead of going to the bonfire we go to the Smoke Hole in the woods for a smaller version. It's a lot better. No teachers and there's always booze. I'm excited. It's out last chance to go this year, though, so that's kind of bumming me out," It didn't look like it. His smile was still ever present. "You guys have it so good. You still have next year!"

He kept on rambling. No one was really listening but no one really had the heart to tell him to stop.

"So you've gone before?" Matthew asked the self proclaimed Prussian. Matthew was observing Lovino. He and Arthur were having a side conversation as they feigned they were listening to Antonio. "Yeah, pretty much every year." Gilbert said.

They were standing close together. Matthew could feel the back of his hand brush Gilbert's. Neither of them moved apart. But neither of them moved closer either. Matt would be lying if he said he wished that wasn't the case.

"So, it's worth going then?" he said looking up into Gilbert's eyes. His eyelashes were almost invisible. "Hell yes, it is. You and your brother are going, right? Wait, don't answer that. You don't have a choice. You're definitely going."

Matthew laughed. "And if I decide I don't want to?" he said teasingly.

Gilbert craned his neck to whisper in his ear. "Then I'll persuade you," he breathed into Matthew's ear.

Matthew shivered and blushed. Gilbert was wearing the most satisfied grin. Alfred, who had seen the whole exchange, wanted to smack it off his face.


	3. Chapter 3

Matthew and Alfred had a lot of rituals that they set in place throughout their childhood. And they never once broke any of them. Unless you count putting out the fireplace by peeing in it at 11:11 every November 11th because Matthew broke that one every year and is to this day astounded that Alfred managed it for six consecutive years.

None of this changed when they joined the Hetalia High student body.

The thirteenth of every month, the two would find somewhere to sit and watch the moon. The rules were simple: Never in the same spot twice and never without the Giraffe blanket.

In the third grade, their Uncle Scott had sewn them a blanket with a giraffe on it. Both of them adored that Giraffe blanket. There being two of them, conflict expectably arose. Long story short, Matthew ended up with the left half, the half with the nose, and Alfred got the half with the tail. It was a satisfying compromise.

That blanket had a place in majority of their rituals. Including moon watching on the thirteenth.

But, that month, Alfred was off playing though nations along with the rest of the baseball team. The only sport Alfred played that Matthew didn't.

That wasn't about to break their unbroken eleven year streak. They would moon watch in a place they never have before wrapped in a torn up giraffe blanket as they always did, only without the other by their side.

Gilbert didn't know any of this. He knew of the brother's rituals but not this one. Which is why he found it odd when he found Matthew padding his way up the fire escape with a hideous blanket draped around his shoulders like a cape.

"Oi, birdie? What are you doing up so late?" he called up to him before following. Matthew was so startled he lost his grip and almost fell off. After a moment of genuine concern Gilbert bursts into laughter that echoed around the idle campus.

"Gilbert," Mathew hissed in embarrassment. He dragged himself up the fire escape faster. Making soft clanging sound with his bare feet against the metal.

They reached the top of the dorm building.

"Cute jammies," Gil teased in a quiet voice with a smirk.

The snaky reply got caught in Matthew's throat as his face turned bright red in embarrassment. He just huffed in response.

He slung his legs over the ledge, waiting patiently for the clouds to part. He patted the spot next to him, inviting Gilbert to sit.

He took up that invitation and wrapped an arm around Matthew. The blanket was soft, even between the layers of his jacket.

"Seriously though, why're you up so late?" Gilbert asked again, his voice a whisper. There was something about the night that changed things. It felt like breaking a rule to break the silence. It would normally bother him to have to stay quiet but it felt right.

"I'm watching the moon," he whispered. Mathew's eyes were distant but clear, as if reliving a memory. Gilbert had a strong suspicion he actually was.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Nostalgic things," Gilbert replied, cryptic.

"Oh, are days with me _that _bad?" Matthew breathes, mocking offense.

"Absolutely," Gil plated along. "Actually, things are better then they ever were before. I actually have friends here. There's nothing tangible that I really miss,"

"Tangible?"

"Yeah. There's nothing I could wish for that was real. I have a car. A phone. Every thing I really need. But, I miss the way I used to feel about things, you know?" Matthew nodded, wanting him to go on.

"I miss the way Christmas used to be so exciting and naps weren't as appealing because consciousness seemed like a better option. It's different now. Maybe for the better. I don't know," Gilbert sighed, still deep in thought.

Matt buried his face his Gil's arm. It was endearing how different Gil was at night. Not when they stayed awake to party or cram for a test but time like when Matt wanted to watch the moon, so Prussia tagged along. He spoke differently, quiet and thoughtful. His guard was down and he didn't even realize. The same mirth was in his eyes but it was softer, more playful. Matthew was yet to get over those eyes.

The clouds parted and he tore his gaze away from ruby red to the glow of the moon. They sat there for a while enjoying each others warmth against the cold air. The only sound was the soft howling of the wind.

"We should start one. Just for the two of us," Gilbert broke the almost silence.

"Start what?"

"One of those rituals. Every fourteenth of the month when we have school we met up here. We don't have to watch the moon. We'll just talk. You can tell me what you miss most or your biggest secrets and I'll tell you mine. We can trade stories-," he looked so excited as he went on about what they would talk about in their new ritual.

Matthew gave small smile. He didn't want to say anything, he just wanted to keep listening to him talk.

He would get a chance to listen. Because every fourteenth of school months they sat on that dorm roof and just talked for hours. About the things that couldn't be said in daylight.

Matthew learned that Gilbert still had trouble reading in English and refused to ask for help. His younger brother could read just fine without any help and it's embarrassing that someone younger could be so much better. Gilbert learned that Matthew despised half the sports he played. He only played some of them because his brother wanted him to and because he was good.

A lot they said was pointless. Gilbert would point to random clusters of stars and make up constellations on the sport.

"That one's called dick boy. Viking used the second star to find north in their travels," he said once. Matthew smacked him upside the head.

Even in the rain they would sit out there soaking to the bone and shivering.

Despite all the commitment and honesty they always tiptoes around one topic: each other. They were both falling fast and hard.

Matthew was scared of loosing the closest friend he's had that wasn't his brother. Gilbert hated broken hearts, whether it be his or Matthew's, he didn't want to see it.


	4. Chapter 4

Not dead. Wow. So, this was originally going to have a plot and what not and I had all the chapters planned out, but I didn't like the feel of it. I'm going to keep the plot points because I spent way to much time on it to just toss it, but I won't me staying in chronological order. Don't worry, continuity will be in tact. It's going to ne more of a high school AU haven. That means I'm taking requests. Whatever ships I've planted are set in stone.

This chapter is one of the time jumps. I'm going back and forwards and no one can stop me.

* * *

The seven of them had originally planned to go to the zoo. Francis had brought the topic up that morning and from that moment on Antonio's mind was set. They were going to the zoo and they were going to enjoy it whether they wanted to or not. Fortunately for Toni, Gilbert also took an avid interest in visiting the zoo. Meaning he wasn't going to stop complaining until they all agreed to go. It took all of two minutes to get everyone to agree. There's really only so much of Gil's voice you can take.

Arthur and Lovino were the most reluctant to go. Lovino took the throne with Arthur riding a close second. From the moment they agreed, anything and everything they had to offer to the conversation was a complaint. Everything.

They left school less then an hour after they decided they wanted to go. Feliks had offered to give them a ride there. He was headed that direction anyways. Francis, Gilbert, Arthur, and Antonio caught a cab. But, only because Lovi told their Feliks to go before the other four could get in the car. Feliks knew they were coming.. He just took some pleasure in disappointing people indirectly.

Their trip to the zoo lasted a whole of two hours before they were kicked out. Matthew didn't even know what happened. One second he was watching some giraffes and the next he was being shuffled away by security guards looking highly vexed.

"Gilbert, get that god damn churro out of my face,"

"It's not in your face, Lov. It's in my hand," Gilbert teased back. He waved a bitten churro just in front of Lovi's nose, not quite touching it.

"That's it!" Lovino shouted before he launched himself at Gilbert. The guard hooked him by the collar of his shirt as if he's done it a thousand times before. They were escorted out.

"What did you guys even do?" Matthew asked. He turns around for two minutes and they get thrown out.

"Nothing," Lovino huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Alfred laughed.

"Sure as hell didn't look like nothing," he said. He got a smack in the head as a response.

"Oh, so Lovino is the one who got us kicked out?" Matthew chuckled. He wasn't entirely surprised. He had to admit, he expected it to be Gilbert.

"No! Well, yeah, I guess I did get me and hamburger bastard here kicked out. I have no idea why the dumbass trio were. We just ran into each other as we were being "escorted" out. Al's the one who told them to grab you too,"

Matthew grinned in amusement. He knew there was no way Gilbert was entirely innocent. "Then what did you three do?"

"We freed the turtles!" Antonio announced beaming with pride. Alfred gaped.

"You didn't,"

"Oh, but we did. They're probably still on a hunt for them right now," Francis added with a grin.

Matthew couldn't help but laugh. Lovino didn't look surprised at all. His eyebrows were furrowed and he looked like he was looking for something. Matthew was about to ask but Gilbert beat him to it.

"Lov, What're you looking for?" he asked looking around for anything significant.

"Who," Lovi answered without looking. He started walking back towards the entrance.

"What?"

"I'm looking for a who. Where's Arthur?"

Everyone froze. Arthur was still in the zoo.

"Oh my god, what do we do!? What if he's lost? Or hungry? What if we never see him again?" Alfred yelled melodramatically.

"Alfred calm down. Just call him," Matthew pleaded. People were starting to stare. Lovino pulled out his phone and called. Francis' pocket rang.

"Why the fuck do you have his phone?" Lovino glowered. Francis gave a sheepish shrug.

"Looks like we gotta go in an get him!" Alfred exclaimed. "This is it. I can be the hero. This is my time to shine! Don't worry Arthur. I'm coming!" he shouted, sprinting towards the entrance.

They wouldn't let him in. And that is the reason they broke into the zoo. They had found Arthur in one of the aquariums, panicking because he broke a display plaque and he was scared he was going to be kicked out. They just laughed at that.

"It's only like one o' clock" Alfred complained.

"And?" Matthew asked raising an eyebrow.

"It's a Saturday,"

"Mhm,"

"And we just got kicked out of a zoo,"

"So?"

"Let's go to the beach. We have time to kill,"

Gilbert piped up at the mention of the beach. No one even bothered trying to argue. It was pretty much decided. They were going to the beach.

That's how the seven of them found themselves on a city bus, raising ten different types of hell. Matthew watched in amusement as his friends and brother caused general public mayhem.

Gilbert had coaxed Francis into trying to do a strip dance on one of the poles. He recorded the whole thing. Alfred had discovered that Arthur is ticklish about two minutes into the ride and he was using this new found discovery to the fullest. He attacked Arthur's sides as Arthur tried to escape (loudly and full of profanities).

Despite all of that Matthew's real concern was that Lovino might actually kill someone. The crowded, chaos filled bus did not seem the prime place for Lovi to be at that moment. Antonio only made it worse by choosing that moment to fess up.

"Lovi, I need to tell you something important… and illegal," he stage whispered.

"What is it?"

Antonio didn't say anything. Instead, from is pocket, he pulled out a small turtle.

"Holy shit,"

"Can I keep him, Lovi? _Por favor_?" he begged.

"Well we sure as hell can't go take it back. I have no idea why you're even asking me for permission,"

The bus ride continued like that until they were dropped off at a transit about a block away from the beach.

"Gilbert, Lo siento, amigo, but you know what you have to do?" Antonio said pulling a bottle of sunscreen form his backpack. Gilbert looked repulsed.

"Nien," Gilbert barked turning around quickly only to come face to face with Francis, who was also wielding a separate bottle of sunscreen.

"You are not getting out of this. Lovi and Arthur have their bottles. You don't have anywhere to run, Gilbert. Put. On. The. Sunscreen," he punctuated each word.

Matthew could only watch the struggle happen. Ten minutes, a dozens of profanities in four new languages, and one and a half bottles of sunscreen later they finally made their way to the beach.

None of them had planned for the beach so no one had swim gear or towels. That didn't stop them from heading straight to the water as soon s they stripped their shirts. Well, just the trio and Alfred. Arthur, Lovino, and Matthew chose to stay on the sand and relax.

It was going great for a while. Until they showed up.

"Who are those guys staring at us like that over there?" Matthew whispered over to Arthur. He looked up and squinted through the sun to see what Matthew was talking about.

"Jesus Christ," he turned to Lovino. "It's some of the UC bastards again," Lovi just groaned.

"Who?" Matthew asked again.

"Those guys go to one of the colleges, UC. You can tell from blue short's hats," he said nodding towards the one at the end in blue shorts. "I don't recognize any of them but most of the guys there are fucking horn dogs,"

"Tell me about it," Arthur mumbled. He stood as they group of college students approached.

"Hey cutie, where you headed?" one of them called after him.

"Sod off," he said not even sparing them a glance as he made his way to one of the food stands. Two of them follow.

"Just head down to the water. I'll handle these assholes," Lovi whispered to him. Matthew nodded, fully intending to come back with his brother one of the guys as backup.

"Um. Excuse me, please," he mumbled as he scrambled up from his spot in the sand and down to the water. One of the college students followed him down, leaving Lovi to deal with the remaining two.

"Your massive heads are blocking the sun," he said not moving from his spot.

"My bad," one of them says, "here, I'll move. I'm Brandon by the way. That's Riley. And you are?" he asked as he and his friend sat on either side of him.

"Not interested," Lovino said, deadpan. He was not in the mood for this so he was trying to drop not so subtle hints.

"Oh, baby, don't be like that," he said running a hand up Lovi's leg.

"Fuck off," he growled. He was so ready to slap that bitch.

"Here, just give us a chance," said Riley, his hand creeping up Lovi's thigh. Before Lovi could tell them to get someone interrupted him.

"A chance to what?" Antonio growled. He looked mad. And if that anger had been directed at Lovino he might have peed himself. Antonio was almost never angry but on the rare occasion that he was, it was one of the scariest things.

Brandon seemed to catch the bad vibe quick. "Nothing. Absolutely nothing. We were just about to go," he said scrambling to pry himself off the sand.

His friend wasn't so smart. "What? I thought we were gunna bang this cutie? That guy's not gunna stop us," he said. Brandon's eyes flicked between him and Antonio quickly before it settled on his friend.

"Dude. Let's go. Now," he said, turning on his heel. His friend looked confused but followed. Antonio flopped himself down in the spot next to Lovi. He wrapped his arm around his shoulders.

Lovino laughed.

"Ha! Did you see that guys face? He looked like he was about to pee himself," Antonio just smiled at him. Lovino was amazed how that same wide, warm smile could have been so terrifying just a minute ago.

"I handled that well," Lovino commented sarcastically, nuzzling into Antonio's almost dry chest.

"Hell yeah you did. You had them on the ropes. Two more minutes and both of them would have been knocked out," he laughed, playing along.

Lovino laughed. Antonio smiled because that was his favorite sound in the world.

* * *

Up by the food stand Arthur found himself in a similar situation.

"Hey there, sweetheart. Want a drink?" one of the college students said as he slid next to Arthur's seat on one of the stools.

"No,"

"Aw, c'mon don't be like that," cooed his friend from behind him.

Arthur said nothing. He wasn't even going to spare them the time. He figured if he ignored them long enough then they'd leave him alone.

But these guys were persistent. Arthur hadn't spoken ten words to them and they were acting like they had known him for years. He dealt with it silently until one of them touched him.

"Get your goddamn hands away from me!" His hand didn't move from it's place on Arthur's back.

"He said get your hands off of him," Alfred said. All three of them jumped.

"Oh, yeah? Whose going to make me?"

"What are we in seconds grade? You can come up with a better come back then that," Alfred mocked.

"Seriously, you two have two seconds to leave before I have him beat the living hell out of you," Arthur said calmly.

"What? This twink? He can't do sh-"

Suffice to say both of them walked out of that with more then a few bruises.

"Not bad," Arthur smirked.

"Oh, not bad? Listen to that everyone! I just saved his ass and I wasn't bad!' Alfred announced loudly to anyone nearby. "But, really. No thank you? Aren't the damsels in distress supposed to give their savior a kiss as a token of affection?"

"In your dreams," Arthur said. "Actually, I will say thank you. For once you can legitimately call yourself a hero," Alfred grinned widely.

"Can't I always?"

"No,"

"I will anyways,"

"I'm counting on it,"

* * *

Matthew rushed down to the water.

"Toni! Go check on Lovi, eh?" he called from ankle deep in the water. Antonio waded in closer.

"Alright. What for?" Matthew didn't answer. He just nodded in Lovino's direction. Antonio bolted up there, mumbling angrily in Spanish along the way.

"Actually someone should go check on Arthur to. I think some of the guys followed him,"

Alfred was gone before he finished.

Before Matthew could say anything else he felt an unfamiliar arm sling around him. Gilbert was there to shove him off before Matthew could even react.

"Back off,"

"Is he yours?" the college student snapped accusingly.

"Yes, in fact, he is," Gilbert said glaring at him. Matthew felt like he was witnessing a super intense staring contest. He could feel his cheeks going red from Gilbert calling him, his. He wished that was actually the case.

The college student raised his eyebrows in skepticism. Gilbert took that as a challenge. He leaned forward and pressed Matthew's lips against his possessively. It was short but got the point across.

"Oh, sorry man," he said, lifting his hands up in surrender with a small smirk on his face.

Gilbert wrapped his arm around Matthew. He melted into the familiar touch.

"Please tell me that wasn't your first kiss," Gilbert said resting his chin on Matthew's head.

"What? No," Matthew said. He was somewhat offended. Did he look like that kind of guy that hasn't had his first kiss? Gilbert just laughed. Matthew looked adorable.

"That's a relief," he sighed. He would have felt terrible if that was Matthew's first kiss.

"Is it?" Matthew asked. He looked up at him with a grin.

"Yeah it is," Matthew deserved better then that. Much better. Gilbert thought he deserved the world.

* * *

That was a happy chapter because the next chapter's going to be kind of sad. I didn't proof read this so good luck.

I'm switching to first person after this and probably taking this chapter down. I just wanted to update.


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